Nothing capsizes a project faster than a copyright strike. Before exporting your final cut, you must understand the legal architecture that keeps your content online.
If you are creating content, you have likely heard the term royalty free music. It effectively serves as the soundtrack to the internet. Royalty free music is studio-quality soundscapes without the studio-sized legal fees. Though there are some things you must know.
1. Royalty Free Does Not Mean Free
The word “free” in royalty free refers to the freedom from paying royalties, not the freedom from cost.
In the music industry, if you wanted to use a Beyoncé song in a commercial, you would have to pay a licensing fee upfront (a hefty one), plus a royalty every time that commercial aired.
Royalty free works differently:
- You pay a one-time fee (or a monthly subscription) to purchase the license.
- Once you have paid that fee, you can use the music as many times as the license allows without ever paying another cent per view or per play.
You are buying the right to use the music, not the music itself.
2. The Three Classes of Licensing
When looking for music, you will generally encounter three types of licensing structures.
License Type Cost Risk Level Best Use Case Public Domain Free ($0) Low Historical projects. (Music where copyright has expired, usually 70+ years after the artist’s death). Creative Commons (CC) Free ($0) Medium Budget projects. You usually must credit the artist in the description. Read the fine print carefully. Royalty-Free Paid ($$) None Best for professional content. Platforms like Epidemic Sound, Artlist, or Musicbed ensure your rights are protected.
3. Beware the Content ID Kraken
You found a beat. It says “No Copyright” in the YouTube title. You download it, edit your video, and upload it. Boom. You get a copyright claim.
YouTube’s Content ID system is a system that scans every second of uploaded video against a database of copyrighted audio. However, many “free” tracks found on random YouTube channels aren’t actually cleared. If the artist later decides to register that song with a Content ID partner, you get claimed, and that hurts.
You likely won’t receive a strike, a formal infraction that puts your entire channel at risk of termination, but the rights holder can demonetize your video and retain all the ad revenue.
This is why the third tier of royalty free music is a solid and safe option. By sourcing from these professional libraries, you swap the risk for a guarantee.
4. Canceling Your Subscription
Since the royalty free industry has moved heavily toward subscription models, you must understand what happens when you hit cancel.
There is a misconception that once you download a song during your subscription, you own it forever. This is false.
- While Subscribed: Any video you publish during your active subscription is cleared forever (in perpetuity). Even if you cancel later, that specific video remains safe.
- After Cancellation: You lose the right to use those downloaded tracks in new projects. You cannot hoard 500 songs, cancel your subscription, and use them for the next five years.
The license is usually attached to the upload date of your video, not the download date of the song. If you upload a video with a track after your subscription expires, the Content ID system will flag it immediately.
5. Keep Your Receipts
Even when you do everything right, algorithms can make mistakes. YouTube’s bots often flag legally licensed music simply because the waveform matches a copyrighted song. This is why you should always save your license certificate (usually a PDF provided at purchase or download).
If you receive a false claim, this document is your “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Most platforms allow you to dispute a claim by simply uploading this PDF or copying your license key.
